Roast and Homemade Beef Gravey

ROAST

3-4 pound beef roast
2 envelopes onion soup
water

Put roast in crock pot, put enough water in to cover 3/4 of the roast, put in onion soup packets.  Cook on low 7-8 hours.


Homemade Beef Gravy
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups cold beef stock or broth
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour until fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes.

Gradually whisk in cold stock. Reduce heat to low. Bring gravy to a simmer, and cook and stir until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, and season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper

Sautéed Green Beans

3 cups green beans, trimmed (frozen or fresh)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1/4 cup almonds, sliced or slivered
Salt and ground black pepper

In a skillet, saute the green beans and garlic in butter or olive oil until tender-crisp. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Before serving, add the almonds to the skillet and heat through until the almonds are toasted.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1-inch pieces (no need to peel)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to salt the water
1/2 ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a large saucepan, add about 1 tablespoon of salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork. Drain and then return to saucepan over low heat for about a minute until all the water is evaporated out and potatoes look dry.

Place remaining ingredients in mixing bowl. Add potatoes to the top. Beat until creamy and smooth.

Candied Walnuts

Vegetable-oil cooking spray (use Silpat if you have one)
1 large egg white
10 oz walnut halves and pieces (about 2.5 cups)
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet with the cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk the egg white until it is completely foamy and no liquid remains. Fold in the walnuts and brown sugar. Toss gently to coat. Arrange the walnuts on the prepared baking sheet, keeping the individual pieces separate. Bake until the egg white-sugar mixture is cooked through and the nuts are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Loosen the nuts from the pan with a spatula. Set aside on a plate to cool.

Spinach Pear Gorgonzola Salad

8 cups spinach
1 ripe pear, sliced
1/3 cup craisins or pomegranate seeds
2 oz. Gorgonzola
Handful of Candied Walnuts
Fresh cracked pepper
Dressing

Champagne Vinaigrette
1/4 c. Champagne vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbl. Freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
1-2 Tbl. Honey
2 Tbl. Olive oil

 In bowl or glass jar, add all ingredients except olive oil.  Mix well.  Then slowly drizzle in olive oil to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

SPINACH BOWTIE PASTA SALAD

Marinade-

2/3 cup Teriyaki Sauce

2/3 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 bunch green onions- chopped

Mix ingredients above together for a marinade.

Add to the marinade 3 cup cooked cubed chicken and 1 ( 16 oz)  box of cooked bowtie pasta (cooked al dente).  Mix.   Marinade overnight.

Just before serving mix in  ½ cup minced parsley, 1 cup craisins, 1 cup honey roasted peanuts and package of baby spinach.

Makes a lot.  Likely want to ½ the recipe if you’re just serving a family. 

Humphrey Guacamole

2 ripe Avocados chopped

1 medium onion chopped

1 green pepper chopped

1 tomato chopped

Cut the avocados into small square pieces, don't mash.

Mix everything together in a bowl then add:

1 Tbsp mayo

1 Tbsp Soured Cream

Mix together

Add kosher salt, California mix garlic salt, ground pepper, and add cayenne pepper all to taste.

A little lemon juice.